LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14928, 28 February 1912, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS

The 39th annual Methodist Conference for- New Zealand is holding its sessions in Auckland during the next fortnight. About 200 delegates, ministerial and lay, will be assembled, and, besides attending to much important business, will havo opportunities of. meeting the public at several special functions that have been arranged. Most of the gatherings will be held in Pitt-etreet Church, but the- Town Hall has been engaged for an oratorio on March 4 and forf a consersaziono on March 8.

As the ferry steamer Kestrel came alongside the Auckland jetty just before 10 o'clock yesterday morning a young woman, resident of Stanley Bay, left the boat before it was properly alongside, and tampered by a hobble skirt failed to reach the wharf, and fell into the water. She could j swim, and at once struck out for the ferry boat, Mr. Arthur Brett lowered himself into the water, and holding on to the ship's side by one hand endeavoured to grasp the woman, but the skirt which caused her immersion also prevented her from swimming freely, and she failed to make headway. Mr. K. Logan, second engineer of the Squall, then divested himself of his coat, and diving overboard went to her assistance and helped her on to a stringer, from which she was taken aboard the Kestrel by Captain M. Scott and other willing hands. The sufferer returned to her home by the next boat to the Shore, suffering from shock and with her wearing apparel ruined.

Her Excellency Lady Islington, accompanied by Miss Stapleton-Cotton and Captain McDougall, visited the Auckland Hospital on Monday afternoon. All the wards were visited by Her Excellency, and she conversed with many of the patients. L;>}y Islington expressed herself as deeply interested in all she had seen, and at the close of her visit thanked the officials who had escorted her round the hospital. Her Excellency will present the diplomas to successful students at the annual meeting of the subscribers and friends of the Auckland Kindergarten Association, which is to be held to-morrow afternoon in the lecture hall of the Training College.

A clock is to be procured for the Ferry buildings. The Harbour Board decided yesterday to accept, the tender of Messrs. W. H. Bailey and Co., of Manchester, for a chiming clock, at a cost of £689 10s. The clock and time-ball will be connected and synchronised with Wellington time.

The chairman of the Auckland Railways League (Mr. G. L. Peacocke) yesterday received a telegram from Mr. H. Poland, M.P. for Ohinemuri, stating that the Minister for Public Works has" arranged to turn the first sod of the Waihi-Tau-ranga section of the East Coast railway on Monday, March 11. Confirmation of this arrangement was also received by Mr. Peacocke from the town clerk of Waihi. The chairman of the league is communicating with the Waihi Borough Council, with the view of arranging for a party of representative Auckland men to attend the function. It is hoped that a number of leading men will look upon this as an opportunity of showing their recognition of the importance of the opening up of direct communication with, the East Coast settlement, which the new railway will effect.

A meeting of the executive committee of the Auckland Exhibition will be held at the Chamber of Commerce rooms on Tuesday afternoon next. Matters for discussion will include the question of site and also the office of president, made vacant by the resignation of Mr. Bait Kent.

Inconvenience has been caused to business people owing to the fact that the outward-bound Vancouver steamer remains for so short a period in Auckland that very little time is available for preparing American and European correspondence. The Canadian Trade Commissioner (Mr. W. A. Beddoe) has been negotiating with the object of having the time and departure altered, and has made representations on the subject to the Canadian Government and also to the New Zealand Government. As the result of his negotiations Mr. Beddoe yesterday received official intimation from the Postal Department to the effect that the Vancouver out-ward-bound mail steamer would in future spend an extra hour in Auckland. The time of departure has now been fixed for three p.m. instead of two p.m. as formerly.

The discussion of the waterside workers' dispute was continued in conference yesterday by the Conciliation Council, the Commissioner (Mr. T. Harle Giles) presiding. The conference, which is still unconcluded, will be resumed to-day.

The body of the Police Court - was crowded yesterday, when Bichard James and Siren Murius Mikklesen were brought before Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., and charged with depriving Mrs. Kipp of the lawful custody of the child Gladys Kipp. Chief-Detective Marsack stated that as fer as James was concerned it was believed that he was a party to the alleged kidnapping, and was privy to the affair. He asked for a remand for a week. Mr. Hackett, who appeared for James, offered no objection, but asked for bail. Mr. Marsack said that ag the child had been recovered he would not object to bail being granted. The remand was granted, bail, two sureties each of £150, being allowed. Mikklesen, who was not represented by counsel, made no application for bail, and was remanded in custody.

The dangerous practice of galloping horses on the Lake Beach, at Takapuna, to the peril of children and others who frequent the place, -was the subject of a letter received by the Harbour Board yesterday from Mr. G. Winstone. A short time ago, he wrote, a youth galloped a horse at full speed up the beach when it was so dark that he could not see a 14-fooi boat on the shore, and dashing into the boat, he damaged it. The rider was under the impression that houses could be driven at any speed between six p.m. and eight p.m. Sooner or later loss of life would result, owing to the number of children on the beach, if a rule forbidding the practice was not enforced. A similar protest was received from Mr. Alex. Ferguson. The secretary of the Board reported that he had written to the caretaker of the Lake Wharf, whose duty it was to enforce the Board's by-law on the subject, asking for an explanation, and urging him to attend to the matter in future. The Chairman said this was a question which needed immediate attention. The letters were referred to the committee.

The necessity has long existed for the extension of the kitchen at the District Hospital, and from time to time the Board has spent considerable sums in temporarily patching up the place. Plans have now been prepared by the architect for alterations to the kitchen and boiler-house, and the Board decided, at a meeting held last evening, to call tenders for this work. The scheme involves tho expenditure of £5000, a portion of which will be spent in erecting a new house for the secretary, within the grounds. The present residence, it was stated, is a low-roofed, small-roomed building, that oncet did dutj{, as -a blockhome.

After the- completion of the great Coronation Durbar at Delhi, His Majesty the King-Emperor, -went north as the guest of the Maharajah of Nepal, who entertained hint at a great tiger hunt. In this week's issue of the Auckland Weekly News, which is on sale to-day, are two very fine illustrations, reproduced from direct photographs taken during the hunt. One of the pictures shows the Maharajah's elephants, and some of the tigers killed, while the others give a close view of the King-Emperor firing from the back of his elephant. Numerous other events of interest dealt with, including the great hurricane in the South Seas, the Highland sports at Napier, the Wellington rowing regatta, the turning of the first sod of the Ohakunc-Raetihi railway, the initiation of the Governor as an Oddfellow at Wellington, last Saturday's yacht racing at Auckland, the Masterton A. and P. show, the Equitable Assurance Society's fire at New York (where the fire engines and hoses were frozen), the battle of Ain-Zara (in Tripoli), the artillery camp at Oringi, th'S construction of the North Auckland Main Trunk railway, the opening of the ; jubilee ward of the Home of Compassion, (Wellington), and many others. A very interesting page is that which shows Cheltenham Beach, as it might be if an up-to-date scheme of town-plannig and decoration were adopted. There is a reproduction of the portrait shield of the Ward Cabinet, which is to be hung in the House of Parliament Wellington, and a portrait of the great Austrian diplomatist, the late Count von Aerenthal. In addition there are numerous scenic, sporting, and industrial pictures from all parts of the Dominion, making up an exceedingly interesting and varied number. The fortnightly statement of the inward and outward shipping movements in the port of Auckland, submitted to the Harbour Board yesterday, stated that the arrivals were three Royal Mail steamers, six large cargo steamers, nine inter-colonial or Islind traders, six coasters from southern ports, one steamer for bunkering and five inter-colonial sailers, an aggregate of 116,790 gross and 72,870 net tons ; also 295 local coasters of 40,005 gross and 22,823 net tons, together a grand total of 156,795 gross and 95,693 net tons. The departures were three Royal Mail steamers, four large cargo steamers, six interColonial or Island traders, nine coasters for southern ports, and one steamer after bunkering, an aggregate of 92,097 gross and 56,604 net tons; also 307 local coasters of 41,353 gross and 22,946 net tons, together a grand total of 133,450 gross and 79,550 net tons.

A letter from the Minister for Railways was read to the- Harbour Board yesterday with regard to the proposed arrangement between the Auckland City Council, the Parnell Thorough Council, the Harbour Board, and the Railway Department. The construction of a road to connect Alpha. Road with King's Drive would meet the requirements of the Railway Department, and he agreed to the construction of the road subject to certain conditions. The Harbour Board and the Railway Department were to give the land required for the road. The Board and the Department were to make no claims for compensation from each other for land taken in connection with the work. A part was to be vested by the Department in the Harbour Board, and another by the Department in the City Council and Parnell Borough Council. The Department was to form and finish the proposed road to the satisfaction of both' Councils within four years, and the Councils to accept the road. The letter was received.

The: death, of an infant named Arthur William Clark, aged ten weeks, took place suddenly yesterday morning.at the registered nursing home of Mrs. Gilbert, in King-street, Archhill. As the infant had been attended by a doctor, who is prepared to certify that death was due to summer diarrhoea, the Coroner (Mr. T. Gresham) decided that an inquest was not necessary.

Part of Rangitoto Channel is marked on the Admiralty charts "examination anchorage," the term meaning that it is an anchorage for the examination of vessels during wartime. As it had been reported that shipmasters were sometimes misled into thinking it was the medical examination anchorage, the Harbour Board wrote some time ago to the authorities suggesting the use of another term. A reply was received yesterday, through the Marine Deaprtment, from the hydrographer to the Admiralty, stating that the nature of the anchorage was indicated in Notice to Mariners No. 1 each year; and this was supplemented by similar information in the cover of the "sailing directions," and frequently in the letterpress relating to the port, so that no ambiguity need arise if masters were guided by the information supplied to them. It would not dp to call the anchorage the "naval examination anchorage," as naval vessels never made use of it. Except in a few ports the examination would devolve upon the local harbour authorities in conjunction with the military. The harbourmaster had the "last word" in a brief report, in which he suggested that, notwithstanding alii explanations by the hydrographer, it would be equally effective and not misleading if the position was marked "examination anchorage during wartime."

The suggestion that the honorary medical staff at the District Hospital should be increased, was made by Mr. E. H. Potter, at a meeting of the Board held last evening. The staff, he said, consisted of three physicians and three surgeons -when the patients numbered 70, and now, when the patients numbered 300, the staff still consisted of six members. There were qualified men in the city who should be given the opportunity to be on the honorary staff. Dr. Pabst, chairman of the honorary medical staff, was opposed to the question being settled offhand. It was more important, he said, that assistantsurgeon.; and assistant-physicians should be appointed, as was the practice in all metropolitan hospitals. Those men would then step automatically into the positions of the honorary staff, having been gaining the necessary experience all the time. It was decided to secure a report from the honorary consulting staff on the question, for consideration at cr>xt meeting.

A proposed change in the representation on the District Hospital Board, under a scheme prepared by the Inspector-General, met with the disapproval of several members at a meeting of the Auckland Board, held last evening. The only alteration suggested is that the Mount Albert district should elect four members, with the city instead of electing two with the Eden electorate. " That will mean," said Mr. M. J. Coyle, "that Mount Albert will be practically disfranchised- The city will elect its own four members as usual, and Jlount Albert will have to look to them, a position which would ba very unfair." The chairman (Mr. P. M. Mackay) said that the 20,000 city voters were so apathetic that Mount Albert's 4000 would bo able to ebct all four members if they desired to do so. The scheme was referred to the Board's solicitor for bis opinion. Parcel post rates from New Zealand to Canada from March 1 will be:—For parr cels not-exceeding 31b*.15-ic:71b».,28;-Hlbj L